Tandem Skydive wants 15-year lease extension at airport

A company that once operated a skydiving business on island wants a 15-year extension of its current lease at the airport—a request that did not make it through during yesterday’s meeting of the Commonwealth Ports Authority board.

Tandem Skydive Saipan Inc. has 15 years remaining on its lease agreement with the ports authority. Citing the infusion of about $250,000 for its planned hangar at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport, the additional lease term is for the anticipated expansion of the company’s operation.

Saipan Tribune learned that the Tandem Skydive currently has only cargo operation on island. However, upon completion of its hangar project, the skydiving business is expected to come next for the company.

According to CPA records, Tandem Skydive pay about $1,200 in its monthly lease with the ports authority. The company first obtained a lease agreement with CPA in March 2001, leasing parcels of land consisting of about 4,000 square meters at the Saipan International Airport. Under the lease terms, the company’s rental increases by 20 percent every five years.

CPA board member Benigno Sablan moved yesterday to adopt the lease extension proposal endorsed by Tandem Skydive owner John Stewart, who wants a lease extension with the same terms and condition as the original agreement.

If the board will approve the proposal, the company will have a new lease term of 30 years including the remaining 15 years in its current term.

It was learned that the company has been proposing the additional term since February.

“CPA is in dire need to generate revenues…and to continue to defer such action is deferring revenue generation for the airport. We know that Freedom Air is out and there’s no other airlines contemplating [to come in]. This one is here. It is committed to build a hangar so it’s incumbent of us to approve its proposal [for additional lease],” Sablan told colleagues during yesterday’s deliberations.

But Sablan’s comments did not move colleagues like vice chair Thomas Kiyu Villagomez, Frances Mafnas, and Michael San Nicolas.

“There’s no commitment to build anything up there. They’re just merely asking for an extension,” observed Villagomez, who pushed for the deferment of the board action pending “clarification and additional” information from Tandem Skydive.

CPA management was instructed yesterday to continue the dialogue with the company until such time all information are provided for board consideration at their next meeting.

“We have to look at this request and the existing lease agreement. I don’t just want to jump in and support the extension because the only thing that he will be doing is to put the hangar [at the airport],” said Villagomez.

However, Sablan said that once the skydiving operations resume, BGRT will then kick in for the CPA.